The Boilermakers and global unions

The Boilermakers union has long participated in global labor solidarity. We are affiliated with IndustriALL Global Union as a way to confront transnational corporations and the exploitation of workers in North America and around the world. Only through collective action at the global level can workers achieve fairness and economic security in the face of employers with enormous global resources and governments that cannot, or will not, hold these transnational corporations accountable.

Boilermaker locals have benefited from our affiliation with global unions. Union pressure through the ICEM (now part of IndustriALL) helped us settle a long-running contract dispute with cement industry giant Lafarge and cement lodge D27 in Missouri. ICEM also worked closely with the Boilermakers union to establish the National Association of Cement and Building Materials Union Network (NACBMUN), a ground-breaking collaboration involving the Boilermakers, Steelworkers, and Teamsters. Participating unions share information and develop strategies for effective collective bargaining.

Today IndustriALL represents 50 million workers in 140 countries in the mining, energy, and manufacturing sectors. International President Newton B. Jones serves on the organization’s executive committee and chairs the Materials Sector.